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Where does Rep.Stephen Lynch stand on the issues?

Lynch plays his cards close to the vest in what seems like a defensive style of politics. It certainly is not leadership-driven.

Take his process on the health care bill debate last summer. From March through August we heard Rep.Lynch say he didn't know how he'd vote on the bill. At the same time, he did not take a leadership role in shaping it. In August at Curry, Rep. Lynch held a town hall meeting and said he had read the bill but still didn't know how he was going to vote. Once again, his constituents could not get a bead on where he stood.

Perhaps even more stunningly at that town hall meeting, Rep. Lynch was given the chance to answer a question about death panels (after all he had read the bill) and refudiate (sic) ;-) the meme that right wing Republican liars and Fox News had made popular. Lynch equivocated! He would not take a stand!

I can guess he would not take a stand so that he would not alienate conservative supporters but that decision, the decision to equivocate, is a failure of leadership. In a debate about issues as fundamental as US health care policy, an issue that touches everyone, there is no room for politicians who can't take a stand on so called death panels.

On Stephen Lynch's leadership, The Boston Globe Editorial staff said

... an equally important question is whether Lynchâ€™s approach to his duties is paying off for his district. Sometimes, lone-wolf stances can be admirable. But after nine years in Congress, thereâ€™s little evidence that Lynchâ€™s independent path has led to much more than a string of frayed relationships. [...]

While Lynchâ€™s votes are individually defensible, collectively they provide a mirror into his politics. When others saw opportunity for historic reforms, he offered skepticism. When others stepped forward to shape legislation, he held back.